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Student Rights and Responsibilities

The Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (OSRR) administers the Northern State University Student Code of Conduct and provides outreach to the campus community on safety, security, and other issues important for student success.

About the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities

The OSRR strives to inspire students to achieve their personal and educational goals, embrace institutional values, and display respect for all members and guests of the university.

The OSRR promotes an efficient, fair, and ethical student conduct process. It also helps students better understand university policies and procedures, and promotes a campus atmosphere of progressive personal, social, and educational growth.

The OSRR manages incident reports and behavioral referrals involving NSU students who may have violated the NSU Student Code of Conduct. From inception to completion, each case is evaluated individually. A variety of educational resources are available to reach a resolution that best serves the student and campus community.

Student Handbook

The NSU Student Handbook, developed by the Office of Student Affairs, includes helpful information about services, administrative policies and procedures at NSU. It is the responsibility of every student to be aware of current policies.

Questions about this handbook, or other information, should be directed to the vice president for Student Affairs, NSU Student Center Room 222, 605-626-2530.

Residence Life Handbook

The Residence Life Handbook is filled with information students will need while living in NSU residence halls. Please note that residents are responsible for knowing all the information within the handbook. Not only does it outline the policies for living on campus, but it includes valuable details about staff and the many great opportunities NSU offers.

Questions about these policies, or other information, should be directed to the director of Residence Life, NSU Student Center Room 222, 605-626-2530.

file a report

Have you witnessed or experienced an incident? You can report it.

Students, as well as NSU faculty, staff, and guests, are encouraged to report any incident of concern to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (OSRR). Do not provide names or contact information if the person reporting the incident requests confidentiality.

In an emergency or crisis situation that requires immediate intervention, call 9-911 from a campus phone or 911 from all other phones.

Report a Non-Academic Complaint

NSU is committed to respecting members of our campus community and providing a quality educational experience for all students. The objective of the Non-Academic Complaint Form is to ensure that concerns and complaints are addressed fairly and resolved promptly.

Non-academic complaints are generally the result of a concern that the student feels is unjust, unequitable, or creates an unnecessary hardship.

The Non-Academic Complaint Form is not intended to be used for reports of sexual misconduct, academic grievances, or academic integrity complaints.

Student policies

The purpose of the Student Code of Conduct is to educate students about their civic and social responsibilities as members of the NSU campus community.

The primary focus of the student conduct process is on educational and corrective outcomes. The Student Code of Conduct is necessary to uphold community standards to protect all members of the university. Self-discipline and respect for the rights and privileges of others are essential to the educational process and to good citizenship, which is reflected throughout student conduct process.

NSU is dedicated to the highest principles and standards of academic integrity. Therefore, NSU believes that the severity of an academic infraction is best evaluated by the faculty of the institution. NSU seeks to offer students an opportunity to respond to allegations of academic misconduct before a decision is rendered. This policy is intended to provide faculty and students with a fair process for addressing allegations of academic misconduct.

This policy is designed to provide a student grievant with an opportunity to obtain an equitable resolution to alleged injustices or problems caused in part or whole by the actions or practices of NSU. Students who feel informal resolutions have not satisfactorily resolved the matter may initiate a formal grievance by filing a non-academic complaint.

Information for Parents

Parents and families are an important part of the Northern State University community. Together, we are supporters of students success here at NSU and as the students graduate and move on to graduate or professional schools and exciting jobs in their chosen career fields. While students are at NSU, we want to make information and resources available to parents and families that will help answer questions, keep parents and students connected, and ensure success for all of our students.

Many of the offices and departments that provide academic and student life support services are listed on this page. While the university is governed by FERPA regulations regarding data privacy, which places some limitations on the information we can legally share about students to their parents, there are many ways to communicate and partner with the campus.